Swedish apartments sold like hot cakes in 2007

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A record of nearly 97,000 apartments changed owners last year in Sweden.

The sales totaled 108 billion kronor ($18 billion), with the lion's share of transactions taking place in large cities.

According to Statistics Sweden, around 12 percent of the country's entire stock of apartments, or one every 18, was sold last year.

The total sale value of 108 billion kronor represents an increase of 21 billion kronor from 2006.

The average price of an apartment increased from 933,000 kronor to 1.1 million kronor between 2006 and 2007, although increases varied widely from region to region.

In Stockholm the average price of an apartment was nearly 2 million kronor. The next most expensive location was Skåne County, where apartments cost about 1 million kronor, the level near which apartment prices in both Uppsala and Västra Götaland County also landed.

Owners who received the least for their apartments in 2007 came from Dalarna, where the average apartment sale price was 217,000 kronor, and Västernorrland (242,000 kronor).

Sellers in large cities took home nearly 80 percent of total sum generated by apartment sales in 2007, or about 88 billion kronor.

The apartment market in Stockholm was in a class by itself, accounting for 65 billion kronor.

According to Statistics Sweden, the steady increase in the number of apartments sold can be attributed to both new production and the conversion of rental units into apartments for sale.